Last night after a sweep of the Miami Marlins and an embarrassing loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night, the New York Yankees came roaring back with a season-high scoring 13 runs in which a trio of Yankee pitchers made their major league debut. It was the first time in the last 71 years that the Yankees debuted three pitchers in the same game. Lew Burdette, Dave Madison, and Ernie Nevel against Washington on Sept. 26, 1950.
Do we have a new Yankee star?
His name is Luis Gil (pronounced Heel); last night, seemingly out of nowhere stepped onto the mound and pitched six innings of four-hit scoreless ball while walking just one batter for the Yankees. I say seemingly out of nowhere because all the attention in the last two years has been on prospect Deivi Garcia, who made his major league debut in August 2020. Garcia has been a mixed bag and only pitched two games in the majors this year, both of which he lost. He is presently pitching poorly at Scranton.
Meanwhile, quietly working his way up through the minors was Luis Gil. Gil has been making a name for himself this season between the Somerset Patriots and the Scranton RailRiders. He has a blazing fastball that gives him the confidence to pitch in the majors. So when Gerrit Cole went on the Covid list, the Yankees had to choose between Nestor Cortes Jr. and Luis Gil. The Yankees, in a surprise move, selected Gil even though Cortes has been successful.
You could say that Gil last night said to Yankee fans and the Orioles that I am here throwing a 101 mph first pitch of the game. In his first six innings pitching in the majors, he has two 1-2-3 innings. He was nothing short of masterful. His last pitch of the game (88) was a strikeout. With both Cole and Domingo German now on the Covid list, Gil will surely get another start. The Yankees may have a new pitching star on their hands. Nestor Cortes Jr. will pitch later in the week.
Reinforcements are on the way
There is no question that the New York Yankees are short pitching with two starters on the Covid list and an overused bullpen. But reinforcements are on the way. General Manager Brian Cashman has said the both Luis Severino and Corey Kluber should be back with the club between August 20 and September 1st.
Meanwhile, with an overused bullpen, the Yankees brought up Stephen Ridings and Brody Koener. Ridings took the seventh inning after Gil made his amazing start. Ridings was no less; he struck out the side. At the top of the eight, Boone brought in Koener. Koener pitched the eighth and closed out the game in the ninth. He allowed two hits and one run in his debut. It now appears the Yankees have two other options out of the bullpen.
Yankee hit feast leads to an important win
Last night with the series win with the line, the New York Yankees exploded for 13 runs, and the win causing a rubber game tonight. After losing the first game against the Orioles with only 3 hits, last night, the Yankees erupted with a season tie 15 hits. All but one Yankees took part in the hit fest. Giancarlo Stanton led the charge with four RBIs in 5 plate appearances. He also hit a monster home run, his 17th in the fourth inning. The Yankees knocked starter Alexander Wells out of the game after just 2.1 innings.
Six Yankees had multiple hits, and Torres, LeMahieu, Sanchez, Wade had extra-base hits on the night. As a new New York Yankee, Joey Gallo has yet to heat up; he was the only Yankees last night not to get a hit. Nevertheless, the Yankees played a good game last night on all fronts, including errorless play.